Automatic best wireless network selection based on key performance indicators

Introducing cognitive mechanisms at the application layer may lead to the possibility of an automatic selection of the wireless network that can guarantee best perceived experience by the final user. This chapter investigates this approach based on the concept of Quality of Experience (QoE), by introducing the use of application layer parameters, namely Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). KPIs are defined for different traffic types based on experimental data. A model for an ap- plication layer cognitive engine is presented, whose goal is to identify and select, based on KPIs, the best wireless network among available ones. An experimenta- tion for the VoIP case, that foresees the use of the One-way end-to-end delay (OED) and the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) as KPIs is presented. This first implementation of the cognitive engine selects the network that, in that specific instant, offers the best QoE based on real captured data. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a cognitive engine that achieves best QoE in a context of heterogeneous wireless networks

Implementing PCOC: A guide for services

The purpose of this guide is to assist services in the implementation of the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC) program. Implementing the PCOC program is a three stage process requiring action in the following areas: leadership and governance, routine assessment, orientation and ongoing education, data management and quality improvement

Long-term efficacy and safety results of taliglucerase alfa through 5years in adult treatment-naïve patients with Gaucher disease

Taliglucerase alfa, the first available plant cell-expressed recombinant therapeutic protein, is an enzyme replacement therapy approved for Gaucher disease (GD). PB-06-001, a pivotal phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-dose study investigated taliglucerase alfa 30 or 60U/kg every other week through 9months in treatment-naïve adults with GD; 30-month extension study PB-06-003 followed. Patients completing PB-06-001 and PB-06-003 could continue treatment in PB-06-007. Nineteen patients enrolled in PB-06-007 (30U/kg, n=8; 60U/kg, n=9; dose adjusted, n=2); 17 completed 5 total years of treatment. In these 3 groups, respectively, taliglucerase alfa resulted in mean decreases in spleen volume (-8.7, -6.9, -12.4 multiples of normal), liver volume (-0.6, -0.4, -0.5 multiples of normal), chitotriosidase activity (-83.1%, -93.4%, -87.9%), and chemokine (CC motif) ligand 18 concentration (-66.7%, -83.3%, -78.9%), as well as mean increases in hemoglobin concentration (+2.1, +2.1, +1.8mg/dL) and platelet count (+31,871, +106,800, +34,000/mm3). The most common adverse events were nasopharyngitis and arthralgia. Most adverse events were mild/moderate; no serious adverse events were considered treatment-related. These results demonstrate continued improvement of disease parameters during 5years of taliglucerase alfa therapy in 17 treatment-naive patients with no new safety concerns, extending the taliglucerase alfa clinical efficacy and safety dataset. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01422187

Polarización política en el Público americano

For more than two decades political scientists have discussed rising elite polarization in the United States, but the study of mass polarization did not receive comparable attention until fairly recently. This article surveys the literature on mass polarization. It begins with a discussion of the concept of polarization, then moves to a critical consideration of different kinds of evidence that have been used to study polarization, concluding that much of the evidence presents problems of inference that render conclusions problematic. The most direct evidence –citizens’ positions on public policy issues– shows little or no indication of increased mass polarization over the past two to three decades. Party sorting –an increased correlation between policy views and partisan identification– clearly has occurred, although the extent has sometimes been exaggerated. Geographic polarization –the hypothesized tenden- cy of like-minded people to cluster together– remains an open question. To date, there is no conclusive evidence that elite polarization has stimulated voters to polarize, on the one hand, or withdraw from politics, on the other.Por más de dos décadas los científicos políticos han discutido el aumento de la polarización de la élite en los Estados Unidos, pero el estudio de la polarización de las masas no recibió la misma atención sino hasta hace muy poco. Este artículo estudia la literatura acerca de la polarización de las masas. Comienza con una discusión del concepto de polarización, luego continúa con una consideración acerca de los diferentes tipos de evidencia que han sido utilizados para estudiar la polarización concluyendo que mucha de la evidencia presenta problemas de inferencia que proporciona conclusiones problemáticas. La evidencia más directa – la posición de los ciudadanos en temas de políticas públicas – muestra poca o ninguna indicación del aumento de la polarización de masas en las dos o tres últimas décadas. Claramente ha habido una clasificación de los partidos –una correlación creciente entre los puntos de vista políticos y la identificación de los adeptos–, aunque el alcance ha sido exagerado algunas veces. La polarización geográfica –la tendencia hipotética de personas afines a agruparse– permanece como un asunto abierto. Hasta la fecha, no hay una evidencia concluyente de que la polarización de la élite haya estimulado a los votantes por una parte, a polarizarse o por otra a retirarse de la política. &nbsp

Budget Processes: Theory and Experimental Evidence

This paper studies budget processes, both theoretically and experimentally. We compare the outcomes of bottom-up and top-down budget processes. It is often presumed that a top-down budget process leads to a smaller overall budget than a bottom-up budget process. Ferejohn and Krehbiel (1987) showed theoretically that this need not be the case. We test experimentally the theoretical predictions of their work. The evidence from these experiments lends strong support to their theory, both at the aggregate and the individual subject level

It is Hobbes, not Rousseau:an experiment on voting and redistribution

We perform an experiment which provides a laboratory replica of some important features of the welfare state. In the experiment, all individuals in a group decide whether to make a costly effort, which produces a random (independent) outcome for each one of them. The group members then vote on whether to redistribute the resulting and commonly known total sum of earnings equally amongst themselves. This game has two equilibria, if played once. In one of them, all players make effort and there is little redistribution. In the other one, there is no effort and nothingWe thank Iris Bohnet, Tim Cason, David Cooper, John Duffy, Maia Guell, John Van Huyck and Robin Mason for helpful conversations and encouragement. The comments of the Editor and two referees helped improve the paper. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation under grants CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010 CSD2006-0016 (all authors), ECO2009-10531 (Cabrales), ECO2008-01768 (Nagel) and the Comunidad de Madrid under grant Excelecon (Cabrales), the Generalitat de Catalunya and the CREA program (Nagel), and project SEJ2007-64340 of Spain’s Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Rodríguez Mora).Publicad

Analyzing Ideological Communities in Congressional Voting Networks

We here study the behavior of political party members aiming at identifying how ideological communities are created and evolve over time in diverse (fragmented and non-fragmented) party systems. Using public voting data of both Brazil and the US, we propose a methodology to identify and characterize ideological communities, their member polarization, and how such communities evolve over time, covering a 15-year period. Our results reveal very distinct patterns across the two case studies, in terms of both structural and dynamic properties

Quality Improvement: A guide for services

This guide provides information for clinicians from organisations and services participating in PCOC to use their reports and the suite of PCOC quality improvement tools for continuous improvement, and to demonstrate improvement in patient and family/carer outcomes